Traffic stop: Driver furious after car towed, family abandoned

A Quebec police officer is being criticized for the way he handled a roadside stop which resulted in a family being left abandoned on the side of a highway after their car was towed.

David Warren was driving his brother and niece, who were visiting from Scotland, to the airport on Sunday when he was pulled over by a Sureté du Quebec officer on Autoroute 15.

The Montreal man was told by the officer that his vehicle registration fee was unpaid. Warren told CTV Montreal on Wednesday that he tried to provide proof that he used his phone to pay the $281 fee in June.

“When he came back to the car, I tried to show him the information that I had, but he wouldn’t look at it,” he claimed.

Warren’s brother began recording the interaction from the back seat as his young daughter cried beside him. In the video, Warren can be heard pleading with the officer to listen.

“No, I don’t have to,” the officer responds in the video. “I’m just doing my job.”

The officer then handed Warren a $482 ticket and told him he would have to mail his proof of payment for the registration to the government. He also called a tow truck to have Warren’s car seized.

When Warren asked the officer how he would be able to get his passengers to the airport in time for their flight, the officer suggested he call a taxi or a friend.

“There was no effort on his part to make any alternative arrangement," said Warren.

After the SQ officer left the family sitting on the side of the highway, Warren managed to convince the tow truck driver to drop them off at the nearest service station where they called a taxi to take them to the airport.

The SQ is not commenting on the incident but they told CTV Montreal they’re looking into the matter. Warren, on the other hand, is trying to figure out why Quebec’s automobile insurance board, the SAAQ, did not correctly record his payment.

With a report from CTV Montreal’s Caroline Van Vlaardingen

Photos

David Warren was driving his brother and niece to the airport when an SQ officer pulled him over.